SUCCULENTA Vol 27 No. 2 —APRIL 2019 THE NEWSLETTER OF SUCCULENTA EAST AFRICA established 1993, a working division of Succulenta Committee members are Chairman & editor: Robert Entwistle [email protected] Secretary: Andrena Low [email protected] Treasurer: Jacqui Resley Nature Kenya liason officer: Heather Elkins Events & activities: Julia Glen, Sarah Grant & Gail Paul Scientific advisors: Professor Len Newton & Dr Emily Wabuyele Chairman’s Notes 1. An article in this issue, again taken from a past issue of Ballya, describes how the author eliminated opuntias - seriously invasive members of the cactus family now found throughout Kenya - from his farm near Naivasha. If this method works at Naivasha, it will also work for everybody, everywhere. 2. Official notice of the 2019 Annual General Meeting, to be held on 25th May at Jacqui Resley’s residence, will be going out shortly. Please put this date in your diaries. Jacqui will provide beverages, but, as usual, members will be asked to contribute to lunch. Appended will be the draft of an amended Constitution document, together with notes to explain the changes suggested. Members are asked to study this in order to decide whether to adopt it by vote at the AGM. Future events Kenya Horticultural Society show The 2019 KHS show will take place from 17 to 19 May at SSDS temple, Lower Kabete Road, Nairobi. It has a section for succulents and this is an opportunity not only to show off the attractions of succulent plants, but also to encourage others to become enthusiasts and waterwise gardeners. Keen members should already be planting suitable material in containers, ready to make an impact: there are prizes to be won at the show. There will also be a plant sale, supplied by members and others. Prospective buyers should arrive early if they hope to buy succulents as they sell out rapidly. We will use our new projector at the show to display a rolling series of shots of succulent plants in the wild as well as in members’ gardens: the functions committee is already preparing the material for screening. Happenings Visit to Tumaren, 4th to 7th February 2019 – Ed. Where to start? Members so fortunate as to join this trip enjoyed three treats – Dee Roberts’s marvellous garden, Tumaren itself and Kate & David Hewett’s new garden at Mpala Ranch. Members assembled at the Roberts’ house “Kiluma” at Mogwooni. After refreshments Dee kindly provided a tour of her garden which, despite the very dry conditions, looked amazing. There is a reason for this and it is an education for those who would garden with succulents. If you study its layout, structure and planting, rather than simply enjoying the spectacle, the amount of thought and hard work that have gone into its development become apparent. Now well-established, the garden hosts some magnificent specimen plants amongst a marvellous diversity of succulents and other complementary plants: aloes, euphorbias, adenias, kalanchoes, crassulas, cotyledons, adromischus, alluaudias, pachypodiums and much else, in all shapes and sizes, several of which were in flower. Dee is a seriously knowledgeable succulent enthusiast and collector and her garden is a reward for all lucky enough to see it. And the co-operative picnic lunch we tucked into later was pretty good, too. Magnificent specimens at Dee Roberts’s garden Aloe helenae (L), Pachypodium lamerii (M) + Adenia globosa subsp. pseudoglobosa, moulded to Alluaudia procera (R) – all from Madagascar the stones it rests upon. Adenia globosa subsp.globosa Aloes spicata (L) + speciosa (R) – South Africa Without Julia Glen leading the way, finding Tumaren might have been interesting. But driving through the now-parched ranchlands of Laikipia is always a pleasure, one’s progress marked by those massive granite and sandstone kopjes and silver-barked boscia trees, many festooned with leopard look-alike bee hives, acacias and low scrub, though noticeably little grass. Across the Ewaso Ngiro river bridge we were into Samburu territory and soon, at some invisible boundary in a maze of tracks, suddenly the grass was longer, not over-grazed, with increasing wildlife – impala, gerenuk and common zebras: we had arrived at Tumaren. At the lodge we were welcomed with flannels and cool drinks, then, after sorting into our tents, there was tea and cake and introduction to our hostess, Kerry Glen, and the Samburu guides who would escort us, but who first ensured/tested our walking capabilities with a very welcome leg-stretcher through the open bush before the lodge, where, to tell us we really were in Laikipia proper, there were Grevy zebra, reticulated giraffe, fringe-eared oryx and some rather battered acacias, they having been munched by elephants, plus bustards, francolins, startlingly-blue vulturine guinea fowl, then sand grouse whizzing overhead as the sun went down and our circular walk brought us back to hot showers. Later, round the fire, there was cold beer and wine for those who had remembered (and thank you again, Julia, for your kindness to this fool who had not). A delicious dinner, a quick next-day’s plan, then bed. A soft “Hodi?” announced the dawn arrival of tea, hot water for my camp basin and a new day. Our principal guide, Anne Powys, joined us for breakfast, then we collected our hats and climbed into Land Cruisers, to be driven to the base of a rocky hill and let loose to fossick and wander, gathering often round Anne and the local guides to hear the identities of various plants they found, some succulent, most found sheltering from the sun behind rocks (Euphorbia sp.) or amongst grasses at the bases of shrubs (eg Kleinia abyssinica, Kalanchoe citrina), and to learn from their collective lore. Let loose to fossick and wander Euphorbia sp. Augmenting Anne’s extensive knowledge of Laikipia’s plant kingdom, the Samburu, being pastoralists, knew their local vegetation well and explained the uses of many plants for nutritional or medicinal value, both for their livestock and themselves, and peeled some for us to sample. Confab of experts Peeling samples for tasting It was interesting to hear how sansevieras colonise over-grazed land (some patches were thick with S. volkensii , with S. robusta and S. frequens also present), which then protect re-establishing grasses whose roots, in time, squeeze out those same sansevieras, in a continuous cycle. And that horrid Anthericopsis sepalosa , whose seeds are excrutiatingly painful to unshod feet, turns out to be valued forage, sprouting quickly after rain and available before the growth of grasses. Who knew? Our meanderings, subtly herded, led us to the river bank, where open-sided marquees had been set up against the scorching sun, and by some process of magic lunch appeared. Rehydrated, fed and recuperated, we returned to the lodge to rest during the worst of the heat, then emerged for tea and more cake and walked out from the lodge again in the cool of the evening: in addition to the larger wildlife, African hares were everywhere and investigation around the base of a tree surprised a pair of hedgehogs hidden down a burrow, waiting for nightfall. Next morning we forewent breakfast to catch the lodge’s walking-safari camel herd at its boma before they left for work. Interesting beasts they are – some, perhaps after too long in the bush, even say endearing. Herd of Succulenta with camels Little sister Behind the boma loomed the massive kopje that was today’s target, hyrax on every top. Although grazed bare, this country’s rocky, sandy soil yielded even more succulent interest than yesterday, if mostly small and hard to find, including Kleinias, Euphorbias, Kalanchoes and Cyphostemma serpens. Many plants were noticeably pale coloured and/or had hairy leaves – all indicators of defence against the sun. For similar reasons, shrubs, including Plectantrus sp. and Hibiscus greenwayii, were seen to inhabit the Eastern side of boulders, their roots in shady crevices between. An extended circle took us back to the vehicles and portable breakfast with lots of water. Then it was back to the camp via the local market, where livestock brought from far and wide was up for sale, and all manner of mitumba, simis and utensils available to go in the other direction. The evening walk yielded a rufous bush chat and d’arnaud’s barbet, before welcome showers, craic around the fire and dinner. Kalanchoe citrina Cyphostemma serpens Kleinia sp. Portulaca quadrifida Kleinia odora S. frequens (foreground) + S. volkensii As the examples below illustrate, Finchie’s enviable talent with a sketch book, used to record what we see while walking, captures both detail and the immediacy of what we saw - a terrific memento. The tale above might suggest a safari enjoyed more for wildlife and the comforts of the excellent lodge than succulent interest: not so, we had both. Fossicking in the kopjes was great fun and the guiding provided by Anne and the Samburu absolutely right, Anne’s quiet authority and their combined wisdom adding greatly to members’ enjoyment of this Succulenta excursion. Her list of succulents seen at Tumaren appears below. SUCCULENTS at TUMAREN - 2019 SPECIES FAMILY SPECIES FAMILY Adenia volkensii PASSIFLORACEAE Kalanchoe schweinfurthii CRASSULACEAE Aloe scabrifolia ASPHODELACEAE Kleinia odora ASTERACEAE Aloe secundiflora ASPHODELACEAE Kleinia petrea ASTERACEAE Ceropegia variegata APOCYNACEAE Kleinia sp. Orange fls ASTERACEAE Cissus rotundifolia VITACEAE Orbea dummeri APOCYNACEAE Cynanchum gerrardii APOCYNACEAE Plectranthus caninus LAMIACEAE Cynanchum viminale APOCYNACEAE Portulaca oleracea PORTULACACEAE Echidnopsis sharpei? APOCYNACEAE Portulaca quadrifida PORTULACACEAE Euphorbia magnicapsula EUPHORBIACEAE Sansevieria robusta DRACENACEAE var.magnicapsula Sansevieria volkensii DRACENACEAE Euphorbia sp. EUPHORBIACEAE Talinum portulacifolium PORTULACACEAE Kalanchoe citrina CRASSULACEAE Kalanchoe mitejea CRASSULACEAE I am especially grateful to Anne for putting names to the succulents pictured above, plus many of the other plants we saw.